Covert Monitoring and Recording of Audio and Video in Controlled-Environment Facilities

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for covert monitoring and/or recording of audio and/or video in controlled-environment facilities are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method may include capturing at least one of: an audio, a video, or a picture of one or more residents of a controlled-environment facility using a communication device disposed within the controlled-environment facility, where the communication device is not being used in any communication session during at least a portion of the capturing; and storing the at least one of the audio, video, or picture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/045,882,also entitled Covert Monitoring and Recording of Audio and Video inControlled-Environment Facilities, filed Oct. 4, 2013, which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This specification relates generally to controlled-environmentfacilities, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for covertlymonitoring and/or recording of audio and/or video incontrolled-environment facilities.

BACKGROUND

According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the UnitedStates has the highest prison population per capita in the world. In2009, for example, 1 out of every 135 U.S. residents was incarcerated.Generally, inmates convicted of felony offenses serve long sentences inprison (e.g., federal or state prisons), whereas those convicted ofmisdemeanors receive shorter sentences to be served in jail (e.g.,county jail). In either case, while awaiting trial, a suspect or accusedmay remain incarcerated. During his or her incarceration, an inmate mayhave opportunities to communicate with the outside world.

By allowing prisoners to have some contact with friends and family whileincarcerated, the justice system aims to facilitate their transitionback into society upon release. Traditional forms of contact includetelephone calls, in-person visitation, conjugal visits, etc. Morerecently, technological advances have allowed jails and prisons toprovide other types of visitation, including videoconferences and onlinechat sessions.

To enable these various types of communications, a jail or prison mayinstall communication devices in different parts of the facility. Suchcommunication devices are generally used to enable inmatecommunications. For example, at the time of a scheduled visitation, anofficer may physically move the inmate from his or her cell or to acommunication device or station in a designated area within thecorrectional facility, where he or she may be able to conduct a remotevisitation with friends, family, acquaintances, etc. When thecommunication is over, the officer may then escort the inmate back tohis or her cell.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for covertly monitoring and/or recording of audioand/or video in controlled-environment facilities are described. In anillustrative, non-limiting embodiment, a method may include capturing atleast one of: an audio, a video, or a picture of one or more residentsof a controlled-environment facility using a communication devicedisposed within the controlled-environment facility, where thecommunication device is not being used in any communication sessionduring at least a portion of the capturing; and storing the at least oneof the audio, video, or picture.

In some cases, the one or more residents may be inmates, and thecontrolled-environment facility may be a correctional facility. Thecommunication device may be located in a pod or cell within thecorrectional facility. Additionally or alternatively, the communicationdevice may be located in a visitation area within the correctionalfacility. Additionally or alternatively, the communication device may bea video visitation device.

The communication device may include an electronic display and, duringthe capturing, the electronic display may not provide any visualindication that the capturing is taking place. Moreover, thecommunication device may be used in a resident's communication sessionduring another portion of the capturing. For example, the communicationsession may be selected from the group consisting of: a telephone call,a video visitation session, an electronic chat session, a videotelephone call, a text message, a prerecorded video message, a socialnetwork message, and an electronic mail message.

The method may further include comparing the at least one of the audio,video, or picture with one or more biometric or non-biometricidentifiers, and identifying at least one of the one or more residentsbased upon the comparison. The method may also include, in response tothe identified resident not being authorized to use the communicationdevice, alerting controlled-environment facility personnel of thepresence of the identified resident. The method may further includedetermining whether the identified resident is authorized to access thecommunication device and, in response to the identified resident notbeing authorized to access the communication device, recording acommunication session taking place through the communication devicewithin a selected time interval of the capturing.

In another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment a method may includeenabling real-time inmate communications involving inmates andnon-residents of the correctional facility; and capturing at least oneof audio or video of one or more inmates of the correctional facilitywhile the communication device is not being used in any inmatecommunication.

The communication may be configured to provide an indication to theinmates that audio or video is being captured during the real-timeinmate communications, and the capturing may occur without thecommunication device providing the indication. For instance, thecommunication device may include an electronic display and, during thecapturing, the electronic display may not indicate that the capturing istaking place.

The method may also include comparing the captured audio or video withone or more biometric or non-biometric identifiers, and identifying atleast one of the one or more inmates based upon the comparison. Themethod may also include alerting controlled- environment facilitypersonnel in response to a first identified one of the one or moreinmates being adverse to a second identified one of the one or moreinmates. The method may also include determining a number of inmates ina vicinity of the communication device.

Additionally or alternatively, the method may include issuing an alertin response to a predetermined number of inmates being in the vicinityof the communication device, in response to a selected type of inmatebeing in the vicinity of another selected type of inmate, in response toa predetermined number of inmates being within a selected physicaldistance from a correctional facility officer, and/or in response to aselected type of inmate being within a predetermined physical distancefrom a correctional facility officer.

In yet another illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, a method mayinclude enabling an inmate communication involving one or more inmatesof the correctional facility, where the communication device isconfigured to provide a visual indication to the one or more inmatesthat audio or video is being captured during the inmate communicationand capturing at least one of audio or video of one or more inmates ofthe correctional facility while the communication device is not beingused in any inmate communication and without providing the visualindication. The method may also include determining a number of inmateswithin range of the communication device and issue an alert in responseto the number of inmates meeting a threshold; or comparing the capturedaudio or video with one or more voice or facial biometric signatures,identifying at least one of the one or more inmates based upon thecomparison, and issuing an alert in response to the identified inmatemeeting a selected inmate profile.

In some embodiments, one or more of the techniques described herein maybe performed via one or more computer systems. In other embodiments, atangible computer-readable storage medium may have program instructionsstored thereon that, upon execution by one or more computer systems,cause the one or more computer systems to execute one or more operationsdisclosed herein. In yet other embodiments, a system may include atleast one processor and a memory coupled to at least one processor. Thememory may store program instructions executable by the at least oneprocessor to execute one or more operations disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an environment where acommunication system may be employed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a communication device according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of communication device softwareaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a computer system configuredto implement various systems and methods described herein according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a method for covertly monitoringand/or recording of audio and/or video according to some embodiments.

While this specification provides several embodiments and illustrativedrawings, a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that thepresent specification is not limited only to the embodiments or drawingsdescribed. It should be understood that the drawings and detaileddescription are not intended to limit the specification to theparticular form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the claims. Also, any headings used herein are fororganizational purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe description. As used herein, the word “may” is meant to convey apermissive sense (i.e., meaning “having the potential to”), rather thana mandatory sense (i.e., meaning “must”). Similarly, the words“include,” “including,” and “includes” mean “including, but not limitedto.”

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This specification discloses systems and methods for covertly monitoringand/or recording of audio and/or video in controlled-environmentfacilities. Various types of controlled environment facilities arepresent in today's society, and persons may be voluntary or involuntaryresidents of such facilities, whether temporarily or permanently.Examples of controlled environment facilities may include correctionalinstitutions or facilities (e.g., municipal jails, county jails, stateprisons, federal prisons, military stockades, juvenile facilities,detention camps, home incarceration environments, etc.), healthcarefacilities (e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, mental health facilities,rehabilitation clinics, such as drug and alcohol rehabilitationfacilities, etc.), restricted living quarters (e.g., hotels, resorts,camps, dormitories, barracks, etc.), and the like.

For convenience of explanation, various examples discussed herein arepresented in the context of correctional facilities. For instance, insome of the implementations discussed below, a controlled environmentfacility may be referred to as a jail or prison, and its residents maybe referred to as arrestees, detainees, or inmates.

The inventors hereof have recognized that correctional facilitiespresent numerous difficulties in areas such as security, surveillance,financial transactions, communications, visitation, investigation,budgetary, etc.; which in turn make technological implementationsuniquely challenging in those environments. In many cases, technologiesthat are used outside of correctional facilities are not immediatelyapplicable to the correctional environment without significant changesand modifications. Moreover, correctional facilities may have specificneeds that are not particularly relevant outside of those environments.

As such, some of the systems and methods described herein may bespecifically tailored to address one or more of the aforementioned needsand challenges. It should be understood, however, that other systems andmethods described herein may also be applicable to other types ofcontrolled environment facilities and their respective residents (e.g.,a hospital and its patients) and, in some cases, may be applicable toenvironments that are not controlled at all.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an illustrative environmentwhere a visitation system may be employed is depicted according to someembodiments. As shown, communication processing system 101 may providetelephone services, videoconferencing, online chat, and othercommunication services to a controlled-environment facility. Forexample, in some cases, communication system 101 may be co-located witha controlled-environment facility. Alternatively, communication system101 may be centrally or remotely located with respect to one or morecontrolled-environment facilities and/or may provide communicationservices to multiple controlled-environment facilities. More generally,however, it should be noted that communication system 101 may assume avariety of forms, and may be configured to serve a variety of facilitiesand/or users, whether within or outside of a controlled-environmentfacility.

In the context of a correctional facility, for instance, inmates may usetelephones 102 to access certain communication services. In somefacilities, inmates may also use a personal computer wireless device 104to access such services. For example, an inmate may initiate telephoneservices by lifting the receiver on telephone 102, at which time theinmate may be prompted to provide a personal identification number(PIN), other identifying information or biometrics. An interactive voiceresponse (IVR) unit (not shown) may generate and play prompt or othermessages to inmates on devices 102 and/or 104.

Under the control of communication processing system 101, devices102-104 may be capable of connecting to a non-resident's (i.e., a personnot committed to a controlled-environment facility) telephone 106 ordevice 105 across a publicly switched telephone network (PSTN) 107. Forexample, telephone 106 may be located at a non-resident's home, inmatevisitation center, etc. Switch 108 in communication processing system101 may be used to connect calls across PSTN 107. Additionally oralternatively, the non-resident may be at telephone 109 or device 112,which is on an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Voice-over-IP(VoIP), or packet data network 110, such as, for example the Internet.Router 111 of communication system 101 is used to route data packetsassociated with a call connection to destination telephone 109.

Video visitation devices 103 a-n (each collectively referred to as“video visitation device 103”) are communication devices with videoconferencing and/or multimedia capabilities to enable inmates toparticipate in video visitation sessions with non-residents of thecorrectional facility via video call, secure online chat, etc. Forexample, a non-resident party may have a personal or laptop computer 113with camera 114 (or a cell phone, tablet computer, etc.). A networkconnection between the parties may be established and supported by anorganization or commercial service that provides computer services andsoftware for use in telecommunications and/or VOIP, such as SKYPE®.Additionally or alternatively, the correctional facility and/or thedestination may use videoconferencing equipment compatible with ITUH.323, H.320, H.264, and/or V.80, or other suitable standards.

In addition to providing certain visitation and communicationoperations, communication processing system 101 may attempt to ensurethat an inmate's calls, video conferences, online chats, etc. areperformed only with non-residents whose identities, devices, emailaddresses, phone numbers, etc. are listed in that inmate's Pre-ApprovedContact (PAC) list. Each inmate's PAC list may be stored, for example,in database 115 maintained by an Administration and Management System(AMS) 116. In addition to PAC list(s), AMS 116 may also store inmate orresident profile data (RPD), as well as visitation rules applicable toeach inmate. As an example, in the context of a correctional facility,database 115 may include information such as balances for inmate trustand calling accounts; trial schedule; conviction data; criminal record;sentencing data, such as time served, time remaining to be served, andrelease date; cell and cellmate assignments; inmate restrictions andwarnings; commissary order history; telephone call history; callrecordings; known or suspected gang or criminal affiliations; known orsuspected affiliates, accomplices, or gang members; and any otherinformation that may be relevant or useful to correctional facilitystaff to house and maintain inmates.

In some embodiments, database 115 may include biometric signatures ofinmates (e.g., voice, facial, iris, fingerprint, etc.) and/or of otherfacility personnel (e.g., correctional officers, staff, etc.). Inaddition, database 115 may include one or more covert surveillance rulesincluding, for example, the times and dates of scheduled covertmonitoring and/or recording, identity of inmates that are the target ofongoing investigations, a maximum threshold number of inmates allowed tobe in different areas within the facility at a given time, etc.

In scenarios where communication system 101 is located within thefacility, it may have direct access to AMS 116. In other embodiments,however, communication system 101 may be located remotely with respectto the controlled-environment facility (or it may have certain elementsdisposed within the facility and other elements disposed remotely withrespect to the facility) and access to AMS 116 may be obtained via acomputer network such as, for example network 110.

Visitation system 130 may be configured to provide, schedule, and managevisitation services to residents and non-residents of acontrolled-environment facility. To that end, visitation system 130 maybe coupled to PSTN 107 and/or network 110 in a manner similar tocommunication processing system 101 by also including one or moreswitches and/or routers (not shown). Accordingly, visitation system 130may be configured to communicate with one or more residents of thecontrolled-environment facility via devices 102-104 and with one or morenon-residents via devices 105, 106, 109, 112, and/or 113. Althoughvisitation system 130 is shown in FIG. 1 as being remotely located withrespect to communication processing system 101 and thecontrolled-environment facility, in other cases visitation system 130may be co-located with the facility and/or integrated within system 101.

In some cases, a media capture device 117 may be part of an existingsecurity surveillance infrastructure within a controlled-environmentfacility. In other cases, media capture devices 117 (e.g., cameras,camcorders, microphones, audio recorders, etc.) may be installed inphysical proximity to communication device(s) 102-104 (e.g., in avisitation room or in the same pod, wing etc.) but be nonethelessdistinct from those communication devices. In operation, communicationsystem 101 may command a corresponding one of media caching modules 118to stream through live video, image and/or audio content from arespective one of media capture devices 117 for covertly monitoringand/or recording of audio and/or video in the facility. In someembodiments, investigators from any jail or facility may be allowed toaccess any camera in any other jail or facility for investigativepurposes.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a video visitation device 103. In someembodiments, device 103 may be implemented as a computer-based systemsuch as described in connection with FIG. 4. Also, in someimplementations, video visitation device 103 may be located in a pod,which is a separate and self-contained housing unit within acorrectional facility designed to hold a number of inmates (e.g., ˜12 to50 prisoners). A small number of prison officers (e.g., ˜2 or 3), andsometimes a single officer or other facility personnel, supervise eachpod. Each pod may contain tiers of cells arranged around a centralcontrol station or desk from which a single officer can monitor all thecells and the entire pod, control cell doors, and communicate with therest of the inmates. Additionally or alternatively, video visitationdevice 103 may be disposed in a visitation area of the correctionalfacility. In other embodiments, video visitation device 103 may bedisposed outside of the correctional facility.

As illustrated, device 103 includes display 204, camera 205, and handset201 coupled to device 103 via wire 209. Display 204 may be any suitableelectronic display such as, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD),a touchscreen display (e.g., resistive, capacitive, etc.), or the like,whereas camera 205 may be a suitable imaging device such as, forinstance, a video camera or webcam equipped with Charge-Coupled Devices(CCDs), Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) active pixelsensors, etc. Handset 201 may be similar to a traditional telephonehandset including an earpiece portion (with a loudspeaker), a handleportion, and a mouthpiece portion (with a microphone).

During a video visitation session, video visitation device 103 may beconfigured to capture a video image of an inmate to be transmitted to anon-resident using camera 205, and to display a video image of thenon-resident to the inmate using display 204. Video visitation device103 may also be configured to capture an audio signal from the inmate tobe transmitted to the non-resident using the mouthpiece portion ofhandset 201, and to provide an audio signal from the non-resident to theinmate using the earpiece portion of handset 201. Additionally oralternatively, audio received from the non-resident may be reproducedvia loudspeaker 202, and audio provided by the inmate may be capturedvia microphone 203. In some embodiments, handset holder or holster 208may be configured to allow a user to securely rest handset 201 againstdevice 103 (e.g., in the “on hook” position) when device 103 is not inuse. Furthermore, handset holder 208 may include a mechanical orelectromechanical switch or sensor (not shown) that senses when handset201 is its not resting against it (e.g. in the “off hook” position).

It should be noted that, outside of correctional facilities, videovisitation device 103 may assume the form of any computer, tabletcomputer, smart phone, etc., or any other consumer device or appliancewith videoconferencing capabilities. Meanwhile, in the context ofcorrectional facilities, video visitation device 103 may include one ormore tampering/impact resistant or hardened elements configured toprotect them from vandalism or otherwise destructive acts. For example,one or more of devices 202-207 may be protected by a transparent plasticor thermoplastic (e.g., Plexiglas, etc.) material.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of communication device software300. In some embodiments, software 300 may be executed, at least inpart, by communication device 103 shown in FIG. 2. As illustrated,software 300 may include communication engine 301, camera/video captureinterface module 302, microphone/audio capture interface module 303,handset sensor module 304, display module 305 and loudspeaker module306. Other modules not shown in FIG. 3 for sake of brevity may include,but are not limited to, a user interface module (configured to allow auser to interact with software 300 and/or visitation system 130) and anAMS interface (configured to allow software 300 to access informationstored in database 115).

In various embodiments, communication engine 301 may be configured toperform communication and/or visitation operations such as, for example,authenticate the identity of an inmate and exchange one or more messageswith communication system 101, visitation system 130, and or devices 112or 113 over network 110 to initiate an inmate communication session.During an inmate communication session, engine 301 may utilizecamera/video capture interface module 302 and/or microphone/audiocapture interface module 303 to provide the non-resident with videoand/or audio captured from the inmate. Display module 305 and/orloudspeaker module 306 may be configured to provide an inmate with videoand/or audio produced by a non-resident during the inmate communicationsession. Meanwhile, handset sensor 304 may include a touch sensor, aheat sensor, or a biometric sensor configured to physically detectpresence of an inmate operating device 103.

Covert surveillance module 307 may be configured to perform one or moreoperations for covertly monitoring and/or recording of audio and/orvideo as described in detail in connection with the example shown inFIG. 5. Covert surveillance module 307 may also monitor and/or recordkey strokes or other user input received via a communication device'stouch screen. In some cases, covert surveillance module 307 may beimplemented, at least in part, in device 103. Additionally oralternatively, covert surveillance module 307 may be implemented, atleast in part, by communications system 101.

In certain embodiments, each of the different components of visitationsoftware 300 may be implemented in software, hardware or a suitablecombination thereof, in an integrated fashion (e.g., on a single serveror computer system) or in a distributed fashion (e.g., via a number ofdiscrete systems configured to communicate with one another via anetwork). Additionally or alternatively, the operation of visitationsoftware 300 may be partitioned into components in a different fashionthan illustrated in FIG. 3.

Embodiments of systems and methods for covertly monitoring and/orrecording of audio and/or video in controlled-environment facilities, asdescribed herein, may be implemented or executed by one or more computersystems. One such computer system is illustrated in FIG. 3. In variousembodiments, computer system 300 may be a server, a mainframe computersystem, a workstation, a network computer, a desktop computer, a laptop,or the like. For example, in some cases, blocks 101, 116, or 130, shownin FIG. 1 may include computer system 300. Moreover, communicationdevices 103-105, 112, and 113 may be implemented as computer system 300.As explained above, in different embodiments these various computersystems may be configured to communicate with each other in any suitableway, such as, for example, via network 110.

As illustrated, computer system 400 includes one or more processors410A-N coupled to a system memory 420 via bus 430. Computer system 400further includes a network interface 440 coupled to bus 430, and one ormore I/O controllers 450, which in turn are coupled to peripheraldevices such as cursor control device 460, keyboard 470, display(s) 480,etc. Each of I/O devices 460-480 may be capable of communicating withI/O controllers 450, for example, via a wired connection (e.g., serialport, Universal Serial Bus port) or wireless connection (e.g., Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, Near Field Communications Link, etc.) Other devices mayinclude, for example, surveillance cameras, microphones,antennas/wireless transducers, phone detection modules, etc.

In various embodiments, computer system 400 may be a single-processorsystem including one processor 410A, or a multi-processor systemincluding two or more processors 410A-N (e.g., two, four, eight, oranother suitable number). Processors 410 may be any processor capable ofexecuting program instructions. For example, in various embodiments,processors 410 may be general-purpose or embedded processorsimplementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs),such as the x86, PowerPC®, ARM®, SPARC®, or MIPS® ISAs, or any othersuitable ISA. In multi-processor systems, each of processors 410 maycommonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. Also, in someembodiments, at least one processor 410 may be a graphics processingunit (GPU) or other dedicated graphics-rendering device.

System memory 420 may be configured to store program instructions and/ordata accessible by processor 410. In various embodiments, system memory420 may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such asstatic random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM),nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type of memory. Asillustrated, program instructions and data implementing certainoperations such as those described herein may be stored within systemmemory 420 as program instructions 425 and data storage 435,respectively. In other embodiments, program instructions and/or data maybe received, sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessiblemedia or on similar media separate from system memory 420 or computersystem 400.

Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include anytangible or non-transitory storage media or memory media such aselectronic, magnetic, or optical media—e.g., disk or CD/DVD-ROM coupledto computer system 400 via bus 430. The terms “tangible” and“non-transitory,” as used herein, are intended to describe acomputer-readable storage medium (or “memory”) excluding propagatingelectromagnetic signals, but are not intended to otherwise limit thetype of physical computer-readable storage device that is encompassed bythe phrase computer-readable medium or memory. For instance, the terms“non-transitory computer-readable medium” or “tangible memory” areintended to encompass types of storage devices that do not necessarilystore information permanently, including for example, random accessmemory (RAM). Program instructions and data stored on a tangiblecomputer-accessible storage medium in non-transitory form may further betransmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via acommunication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link.

In an embodiment, bus 430 may be configured to coordinate I/O trafficbetween processor 410, system memory 420, and any peripheral devices inthe device, including network interface 440 or other peripheralinterfaces, such as input/output devices 450. In some embodiments, bus430 may perform any necessary protocol, timing or other datatransformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., systemmemory 420) into a format suitable for use by another component (e.g.,processor 410). In some embodiments, bus 430 may include support fordevices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as avariant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard orthe Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. In someembodiments, the function of bus 430 may be split into two or moreseparate components, such as a northbridge chipset and a southbridgechipset, for example. In addition, in some embodiments some or all ofthe functionality of bus 430, such as an interface to system memory 420,may be incorporated directly into processor(s) 410A-N.

Network interface 440 may be configured to allow data to be exchangedbetween computer system 400 and other devices attached to a network,such as other computer systems, or between nodes of computer system 400.In various embodiments, network interface 440 may support communicationvia wired or wireless general data networks, such as any suitable typeof Ethernet network, for example; via telecommunications/telephonynetworks such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communicationsnetworks; via storage area networks such as Fibre Channel SANs, or viaany other suitable type of network and/or protocol.

I/O controllers 450 may, in some embodiments, enable communications withone or more display terminals, keyboards, keypads, touchpads, scanningdevices, voice or optical recognition devices, mobile devices, or anyother devices suitable for entering or retrieving data by one or morecomputer system 400. Multiple I/O controllers 450 may be present incomputer system 400 or may be distributed on various nodes of computersystem 400. In some embodiments, I/O devices may be separate fromcomputer system 400 and may interact with one or more nodes of computersystem 400 through a wired or wireless connection, such as over networkinterface 440.

As shown in FIG. 4, memory 420 may include program instructions 425,configured to implement certain embodiments described herein, and datastorage 435, comprising various data may be accessible by programinstructions 425. In an embodiment, program instructions 425 may includesoftware elements shown in FIG. 3, which may be configured to effect theoperations shown in FIG. 5. Program instructions 425 may be implementedin various embodiments using any desired programming language, scriptinglanguage, or combination of programming languages and/or scriptinglanguages (e.g., C, C++, C#, Java™, JavaScript™, Perl, etc.). Datastorage 435 may include data that may be used in these embodiments(e.g., recorded communications, profiles for different modes ofoperations, etc.). In other embodiments, other or different softwareelements and data may be included.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that computersystem 400 is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scopeof the disclosure described herein. In particular, the computer systemand devices may include any combination of hardware or software that canperform the indicated operations. In addition, the operations performedby the illustrated components may, in some embodiments, be performed byfewer components or distributed across additional components. Similarly,in other embodiments, the operations of some of the illustratedcomponents may not be provided and/or other additional operations may beavailable. Accordingly, systems and methods described herein may beimplemented or executed with other computer system configurations.

Referring back to FIG. 1, video visitation devices 103 (as well as othercommunication devices 102 through 104) have traditionally been used onlyfor facilitating inmate communications, and not for covert monitoringand/or recording of audio and/or video. In other words, although videovisitation devices 103 are configured to capture audio and/or video froman inmate during an inmate's communication, the inmate is aware of suchcapturing because, after all, the ongoing communication is enabled bythat very device. Also, in some cases, video visitation device 103 mayprovide an explicit indication that audio and/or video are beingcaptured (e.g., an audio cue, a message on a display, etc.). Before anactual communication begins and after the communication ends, however,video visitation devices 103 do not capture audio and/or video.

In contrast with the foregoing, in some embodiments described herein,communication system 101 and/or communication devices 102-104 may beconfigured to covertly monitor and/or record audio and/or video usingcommunication devices 102-104 in a manner that is hidden or concealedfrom residents of the controlled-environment facility, for example,through operation of covert surveillance module 307. In some cases,monitoring and/or recording activities may occur, at least in part,prior to a communication device being used to start an inmatecommunication session and/or after the communication has ended, and/orwithout providing an indication to the residents that audio and/or videoare being captured.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a method for covertly monitoringand/or recording of audio and/or video. In some embodiments, method 500may be performed by covert surveillance module 307 operating orexecuting within communication devices 102-104 and/or communicationssystem 101. At block 501, method 500 includes capturing at least one of:an audio, a video, or a picture of one or more residents of acontrolled-environment facility using a communication device disposedwithin the controlled-environment facility. The operation of block 501may occur such that, at least during a portion of the capturing, thecommunication device is not being used in any communication session.

For example, the capturing may occur, at least in part, before and/orafter a communication session. These communication sessions may include,but are not limited to, a telephone call, a video visitation session, anelectronic chat session, a video telephone call, a text message, aprerecorded video message, a social network message, an electronic mailmessage, etc. As such, inmate communications may include real-time ornon- real-time communications, which may often involve inmates andnon-residents of a correctional facility.

At block 502, method 500 may abstain from providing any indication ofthe capturing to the resident in the vicinity of the communicationdevice (e.g., in the same pod or visitation area). For example, thecommunication device may include an electronic display that wouldordinarily indicate to an inmate that a communication session isongoing. During the capturing of block 501, however, the communicationdevice may be configured such that the electronic display does notprovide any visual indication that any audio, video, or image capture istaking place. In other cases, the communication device may indicate thatone type of capture is being performed (e.g., that a telephone call isgoing, therefore audio is being captured), but may abstain fromindicating that another type of capture (e.g., a video and/or picture)is ongoing.

In yet other cases, the communication device may provide a display thatdeceives or misleads the resident into thinking that a particular typeof capture is not taking place. For instance, a visual message to theeffect that “A Voice-Only Telephone Call is Now in Progress” may bedisplayed, but the communication device may in fact also be capturing avideo or pictures of the resident during the call.

At block 503, method 500 may include storing a media file with thecaptured audio, video, and/or picture. At block 504, method 500 mayinclude generating one or more biometric signatures from the media fileusing any suitable method known in the art. Then, at block 505, method500 may include comparing the generated biometric signatures withpreviously stored biometric signatures to identify one or more partiespresent in the video, audio, and/or picture; and/or to identify a numberof parties present in the video, audio, and/or picture. Examples ofbiometric signatures include, but are not limited to, fingerprint, facerecognition, palm prints, hand geometry, iris or retina recognition,odor or scent, voice recognition, gait analysis, tattoo recognition,etc.

In alternative embodiments, non-biometric features may also be used toidentify one or more parties or a number of parties. Examples ofnon-biometric features include, but are not limited to, residentPersonal Identification Numbers (PINs), resident Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tags (e.g., bracelets, anklets), resident barcodes, etc.

At block 506, method 500 may include determining whether results of thecomparison match one or more predetermined conditions. If the conditionof block 506 is not met, then method 500 returns to block 501.Otherwise, at block 507, an alert may be issued to facility personnel,other facility officers, etc.

For example, in some implementations, two or more inmates may beidentified, and a first inmate may be determined to be adverse to asecond inmate. For instance, the first inmate may belong to a givengang, group, or organization, and the second inmate may be affiliatedwith an opposing gang, group, or organization. In other implementations,facility personnel may choose a maximum number of inmates that can bepresent in the vicinity of the communication device, and block 506 mayinclude determining whether the number of parties identified withinrange of the communication device meets or exceeds that thresholdnumber. In yet other implementations, block 505 may have identified acorrectional facility officer, and facility personnel may select amaximum number of inmates that can be present within a selected physicaldistance (e.g., 5 feet, 10 feet, etc.) of the officer at a given time.If one or more of these various conditions is met, the alert may beissued.

Similar conditions in block 506 may be evaluated depending upon a typeof inmate or inmate classification system. For example, inmates known tobe violent may be classified as belonging to a first type or group, andinmates known to be peaceful may be classified into a different type orgroup. Thus, a greater number of violent inmates in the vicinity of anotherwise non-violent inmate may cause an alert to be issued in block507. In some cases, inmates incarcerated for offenses carrying shorterprison terms may be classified differently than long-term inmates. Also,inmates currently under investigation may be classified into a groupseparate from other inmates. Other classification systems will beapparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art in light of thisdisclosure.

The various systems and methods illustrated in the figures and describedherein represent example embodiments of systems and methods for covertmonitoring and recording of audio and video in controlled-environmentfacilities. These techniques may be implemented in software, hardware,or a combination thereof. The order in which each operation of a givenmethod is performed may be changed, and various elements of the systemsillustrated herein may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, modified,etc. Various modifications and changes may be made as would be clear toa person of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of thisspecification. It is intended that the invention(s) described hereinembrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly, the abovedescription should be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for covert surveillance of residents ofcontrolled-environment facilities, the method comprising monitoring keystokes of one or more residents of a controlled-environment facilityusing a communication device disposed within the controlled-environmentfacility.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the keystrokes.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording the keystrokes.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication deviceincludes a touch screen and the key strokes are entered on the touchscreen, by the resident.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecommunication device includes a touch screen and during the monitoringthe touch screen does not provide any visual indication that thecapturing is taking place.
 6. A method for covert surveillance ofresidents of a first controlled-environment facility, the methodcomprising allowing investigators from another controlled-environmentfacility access to audio, images and/or video from one or more camerasin the first controlled-environment facility.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein at least one of the one or more cameras is part of acommunication device disposed within the controlled-environmentfacility.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the communication device isa video visitation device.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein theresidents are inmates, the controlled-environment facilities arecorrectional facilities and the communication device is located in a podor cell within one of the correctional facilities.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the residents are inmates, the controlled-environmentfacilities are correctional facilities and the communication device islocated in a visitation area within one of the correctional facilities.11. The method of claim 7, wherein the communication device is not beingused in any communication session during at least part of the access.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the communication device is used ina resident's communication session during another portion of the access.13. The method of claim 7, wherein the communication device includes anelectronic display and wherein, during the access, the electronicdisplay does not provide any visual indication that the access is takingplace.
 14. The method of claim 6, further comprising comparing at leastone video or image of a resident from one of the cameras with one ormore biometric or non-biometric identifiers, and identifying theresident based upon the comparison.
 15. A method, comprising: capturingat least one of: an audio, a video, or a picture of one or moreresidents of a controlled-environment facility using a communicationdevice disposed within the controlled-environment facility, wherein thecommunication device is not being used in any communication sessionduring at least a portion of the capturing; comparing captured audio,video or picture with one or more biometric or non-biometricidentifiers, and identifying a plurality of residents based upon thecomparison; and alert controlled-environment facility personnel inresponse to a first identified resident being adverse to a secondidentified resident.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the firstidentified resident is a member of a first gang, group and/ororganization, and the second identified resident is a member of anopposing gang, group and/or organization.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein a determination that first identified resident is adverse to thesecond identified resident is based on a type of resident of the firstand/or second identified resident.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein adetermination that first identified resident is adverse to the secondidentified resident is based on a resident classification system. 19.The method of claim 15, wherein a determination that first identifiedresident is adverse to the second identified resident is based on one ofthe identified residents being classified as more violent than anotherof the identified residents.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein thecontrolled environment facility is a correctional facility and theresidents are inmates, and wherein a determination that first identifiedresident is adverse to the second identified resident is based on termsof sentences of the residents.
 21. The method of claim 15, wherein adetermination that first identified resident is adverse to the secondidentified resident is based on at least one identified resident beingunder investigation and at least one other identified resident not beingunder investigation.